Fluent material agitator



Sept. 22, 1959 F. L. THAYER ETAL FLUENT MATERIAL AGITATOR Filed June 8, 195s 5) p01@ 7 E E,

2 Sheets-SheerI l INVENTORS Sept, 22, 1959 F. L. THAYER ETAL 2,905,365

FLUENT MATERIAL AGITATOR Filed June 8, 1956 2 Sl'xeets-Sheerl 2 2,905,365 FLUENT MATERIAL AGITAToR Application June 8,' 1956, Serial No. 590,228 4 Claims. (Cl. 222-198) This invention relates yto agitators for assisting the passage of fluent materials through conduits, and more particularly .to agitators employed in gravity feed mechanisms for comminuted materials of all types.

A general object of our invention is to provide agitator mechanism for the outlet conduit of loading hoppers which will be effective in preventing the bridging action which renders the flow of materials through the conduit uneven. A more detailed object of our invention is to provide agitator mechanism which will be simple in its construction, requiring few working parts, and which will be light so that the undesirable effects of inertia in the system will be reduced to a minimum.

-In the accomplishment of these and other objects of our invention in a preferred embodiment thereof, we employ a frame covering a portion of the inner surface of a conduit for a feed hopper or the like. The frame is supported by means of bolts which pass through the wall of the conduit and are in turn connected to vibrator mechanism located outside the conduit. The frame is employed to mount an expanded metal screen or other suitably rough surface, and the vibrator rapidly oscillates the frame and screen so that .the fluent material within the conduit flows rapidly without bridging.

It is a feature of our invention that the connecting mechanism between the vibrator and the frame is mounted in a thick rubber bushing at the point where the said connecting mechanism passes through the wall of the conduit. In this way, a seal is provided for the said connecting mechanism and also the frame and vibrator are supported thereby in a resilient medium which is suitable for high speed vibration. Still another feature of our invention is that the frame and screen are light, and that vibrating these elements results in a high degree of agitation with a minimum of inertia in the moving parts. An additional feature of our invention lies in the relationship between the vibrator means and the elements through which the vibration thereof is transmitted to the frame. The rubber bushing which supports the connecting mechanism is further adapted to take the major portion of the thrust of vibration so that the supporting elements for the vibrator and frame are subjected to a minimum of bending action in the metal portions thereof. This tends to obviate the harmful effects of metal fatigue which otherwise is present in rapidly oscillating mechanisms of this sort.

Further objects and features of our invention will best be understood and appreciated from a detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of the lower portion of a feed hopper conduit;

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective of the elements shown in Fig. l, showing more in detail ythe agitator frame and screen;

Fig. 3 is a view in front elevation with a portion of the conduit broken away to show the frame and lscreen on the inside; and

Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation'showing the agitator supporting elements, and the framerin dotted lines.

The preferred'embodiment of our invention herein shown is mounted in a converging conduit 10 which may be the lower portion of a conventional feed hoppervin the area in which the passage of fluent material becomes restricted at the outlet opening. .Within ythe conduit 10', we mount a frame 12 covering a portion of the inner surface thereof where'the lluentl material isrelatively restricted in its flow. The frame 12 isjmade of relatively rigid and durable metalelements, and it supports across its yarea an expanded metal lscreen 14 which is reinforced centrally by a rib 16 It willbe understood, of course, that the frame :12 need not be of the rectangular form shown and that it might also be employed to advantage covering other portions of the inner surface of the conduit. In fact, for some uses the frame 12 may be located more centrally of the conduit itself than is shown in the drawings herein, and therefore, we desire to claim the frame broadly within the conduit, as well as in the position shown.

The frame 12 is supported by means of a pair of bolts 18 each of which pass through an appropriately positioned opening in the side of the conduit 10- and which are in turn each supported by .thick rubber bushings 20 mounted on plates 22 which are bolted to the conduit 10 over the said holes. A compressed air vibrator 24 is mounted on a T-bar 26 which is in turn connected to and supported by the bolts 18. In this way the vibrator 24 is located on the outside of the conduit 10 and the frame 12 and screen 14 which accomplish the agitation are on the inside of the conduit, and the connecting mechanism between them passes through the wall being supported in turn by the rubber bushings 20. The rubber bushings 20 are important for purposes of sealing the conduit 10 against the unwanted passage of material, while at the same time permitting relative motion of the vibrating elements. The bushings 20 also form an important function in supporting the bolts 418 in their vibrating function without subjecting them to fatigue stresses ordinarily present in vibrating mechanisms of this sort.

In operation the vibrator 24 is turned on during the periods in which fluent material is intended .to ow through the conduit 10. This causes the frame 12 and screen 14 to shake and effectively disrupt obstructions, blocks, or bridges of the material in the conduit which otherwise impair ythe free flow of the material. Furthermore, the frame 12 moves essentially longitudinally of the surface of the conduit over which it lies, and in this way it tends to clean the said surface and prevent any caking or accumulation of material on the said surface which might otherwise occur.

Inasmuch as numerous minor variations of this preferred embodiment of our invention will now be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, it is not intended to confine the invention to the precise form herein shown, but rather to limit it in terms of the appended claims.

Having thus described and disclosed a preferred embodiment of our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. An agitator for fluent material yto ensure its` free passage through a conduit, comprising, separate agitator means disposed within said conduit, vibrator means for vibrating said agitator means relative to said conduit and in a direction predominantly parallel to the plane of said agitator means, and means for connecting said vibrator means to said agitator means passing -through a wall of said conduit, and a rubber bushing in the said Patented Sept. 22, '19591l wall Ict said conduit @surrounding said connecting means v and supporting both said agitator and vibrator means.

2. The agitator delined in claim 1 further characterized by said rubber bushing'in rm supporting relation tn ,said lconneotin'g .meanswhereby fsad bushing -acts ao transmit a substantial portion of the vibration said vibrator means tozsaidagitatormeans.

3. The `agitator deined `in lclaim 1 'ffurther characterized 'by both said agitator means and said vibrator means being re'e -to move in the plane of said Wall land Within the limits of :motion Apermitted by the resiliency of fsaid bushing, and .-said vibrator means actuating said agitator meanspredominantly iin the `:plane of .said wall.

4. LAn agitator 'for -uent 2material to ensure `its free passage through -a :conduit comprising: `a iframe xdisposed within said lc'o'uutit xadacent iand parallel to a portion `'of said conduit; V`vibrator means and support means rigidly attached to said "frame, said vibrator means vibrating sai'd frame relative to 'said 'conduit Yand in a direction 4 predominantly parallel to the plane of said portion; means for connecting said frame, support means and vibrator as -a unit to said conduit, comprising an elastic bushing secured to said conduit, saidl support means secured to said frame, and said bushing receiving said support means; and means carried by said frame for agitating adjacent portions of said uent material Vwhen said frame is vibrated.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES .PATENTS 1,566,746 Herman Dec. 122, 1925 1,942,581 Tolman Jan. 9, 1934 2,170,258 Borch Aug. '22, 1939 2,323,864 Weya-ndt July 6, 1943 2,333,435 Muskat Nov. 2, 1943 2,381,802 Booth et al Aug. 7, 1945 2,401,913 lDawson June 11, 1946 2,560,480 Rogers et al `Iu`ly 10, v1'9'51l 

